Microsoft Still Considering Xbox 360 Backward Compatibility For Xbox One

Less than a year ago, former Xbox Boss Don Mattrick said that including backward compatibility in a new console would be “really backwards.” Thankfully, there are some at Microsoft still investigating ways to play your old content on your new hardware.

At the Microsoft Build conference last week, partner development lead Frank Savage responded to an audience inquiry about plans for backward compatibility on Xbox One. “There are [plans], but we’re not done thinking them through yet, unfortunately,” he said.

The hangup is in the conversion from the PowerPC hardware powering the Xbox 360 to the x86 architecture of the Xbox One. With six months under our belt in the new generation, is this something you’re interested in Microsoft investing time in, or have you moved on?

Our TakePut simply, Microsoft has an opportunity here. If it can manage to get backward compatibility working and give users access to their digital libraries, it would be an enormous competitive advantage. Even now, it would be a show of good faith to customers.

Don Mattrick wasn’t thinking ahead to a situation in which Microsoft is playing from behind. The Kinect might not have been worth the extra $100 to some, but having access to older content (and for those new to the Xbox family a wide open, affordable library)? That might have moved more units in the earliest days of the new generation.

This is going to make me rethink which system I purchase later this year. I decided to let the initial setups get out there and get some use (I was red ringed of death) before I pick up a system, but I was leaning toward a ps4 heavily. Backwards compatibility might make me change my mind.

As someone who has four game consoles connected to his TV I could go either way with it.
But it would be nice to play a previously purchased digital game(s), or slap a disk in and it work would be nice for my X-one, but I just flip to a different connection setting now to play between consoles.
I wasn't one of those that tossed aside or packed up his old units just to play my new ones. There isn't enough new gen games to keep me occupied to play them at the moment.

I am fully in support for them doing this. This would indeed show interest and thought for the consumer, and would give them an edge over PS4. Just the fact that they are trying to lay down plans for it gives me a lot of hope.

I could see how this could help them, but it could also do nothing for them. Both sony and MS talked about how BC last gen was so underused by gamers that it made the work put into it pointless. I could see it being a selling point that is rarly used.

It would be extremely convenient. I don't care if it wasn't used often. I have a large library of 360 games that I'll still play and I want to buy more 360 games, but I can't justify the lack of support.

I also know many people who said they would buy the Xbox One immediately should it have backwards compatibility.

I completely agree with Mr. Futter, this is a great opportunity and one that would change the way consumers look at the new console. Many players that haven't upgraded are looking at this intently to see where Microsoft's loyalty will fall. Having disc-based backward compatibility would put a great advantage for Microsoft over Sony, even with Sony's PSNow service, by allowing the games they have to run on the new system.

We're still waiting to see how PSNow will work on the PS4 but this could be a great opportunity to change the game.

If they manage to implement a way to play our older games, i will sooo buy an Xbox One. i have a whole catalog of 360 games that I would not have been able to play on the new console. This is great news.

As long as the Xbox One's bells and whistles are fully functional with backwards-compatible games, this would be instantly added to the "Coolest Things Ever" list in my book. I've been of the mind up until recently that backwards compatibility is unnecessary and overrated in newer systems(since saved games can't be carried over), but if we could get even a moderate selection of the Xbox 360's library and combine that with the Xbone's streaming and recording features, even the most amateur content creators could make some really unique projects.